president obama continuing to push his health care plan out ialsotr townhall is under way. good saturday. i'm craig melvin. president obama in grand junction tonight. answering critic whose believe his plans for health car are too ambitious and too expensive. here is a live look inside the townhall. the white house says the president wants to tone down a sudden wave of anger which has put some democratic law makers on the defensive at other townhall meetings around the

country. brian moore starts us off tonight. >> at yellowstone national park, president obama caught a stunning view of old faithful. he spent some quality time with the first family. then he headed to colorado in the latest round in the health care reform fight. looking to make peace or at least extend an olive branch to the other side. >> these are legitimate differences worthy of the real discussion that america deserves one where we lower our voices listen to one another and talk about differences that really exist. >> the president is holding another in a series of townhall meetings that look a lot like his election campaign. reform opponents are running a pretty good campaign of their own. >> thank y'all very much, welcome to the rumble. >> democrats have been on the defensive all week. >> it's my opinion what we are seeing right now is the intentional systematic dismantling of the american republic.

>> i would not tell my 11-year-old daughter, she ran five cars in the ditch here is a nother car. no you fix up the problem why you can't get another car. >> republicans say the is righteous indig nation. >> there is nothing unamerican about disagreements. in fact our great nation was founded on speaking our minds. >> meanwhile the president will continue his campaign. trying to convince america that health care reform isn't about politics. in short the president is trying to turn this debate from a national screaming match into a discussion of the facts. on capitol hill, brian moore, news 4. critics of the president's proposals are holding their own event at a nearby park this evening in grand junction, colorado. senator jim webb secured the e reasleasn arimema an ldcan ame in mhe.yanm ngriis h vit h the virginia crdeecitat bdee thate first senr bb poaweetls w mith

opsiti leader, the 64 malea dn,wo 64-year-old woman, detaine f oro the last most of themyend u ermostf them under houndre. weelea rseth o release of thf aner .he s sentenced to seven years ha srdab foror swimming to the detainee's lake side house and staying inside two days. suicide bomb rocked the afghan capital killing seven injuring 100. the car bomber struck near the front gate of the kabul headquarters. the explosion happened in a heavily guarded diplomatic area of the city and comes less than a week before afghanistan's presidential election. it seems as if the explosion is aimed at scaring off voters there. the spokesman has claimed responsibility for the attack. police in prince george's county are searching for a suspect who fired an ofyfd ut lipo itthieorsaynuerimeterve a ienuu itors sayof tuty charles cntoufdofolyy charless ntisinic v hheleehn w hin vehicle when the

hi ott. ericev nas hhi owt. eid sh ting mhtig shooting might be the result of an ongoing dispute with a family member. f four people ran into trou when their boat began taking on water. take a look there. prince george's county fire department sent rescue boats out to escort the 21 foot vessel safely back to shore. starting today you will have to provide more personal information before taking to the skies. airlines in the united states are going to be asking travelers some new questions to make sure that fliers identities are not mistaken or forged. darcy spencer at reagan national tonight. good evening. government officials are saying this is about passenger safety. they want to keep dangerous people right here on the ground. but also decrease the number of cases of mistaken identity that force some to be denied flights. starting when you make an airline reservation you may need to provide your gender and date of birth as well as your full

name. all part of the transportation security administration's secure flight program. >> i would rather have somebody asking for more information knowing they're doing what they're suppose to keep us safe. when everybody is traveling especially with peep, families, little kids. like to see them do more due diligence a bi i think it is good. >> secure fligh behind the scenes watch list. officials say an important tool making sure those with no fly status don't get boarding passes aimed at making it safer and easier for travelers. >> i don't think it is a big deal. probably take 15, 20 second. don't think it is a big deal at all. to ensure safety. a good thing. >> additional information collected on passengers is to prevent misidentification of people on terrorist watch lists. and better identify those who pose a threat to airline safety. government officials say the program should be phased in by end of next year.

reporting live, darcy spencer, news 4. back to you, craig. >>darcy, thank you. out of control riot inside a mexican prison. tonight more than a dozen inmates are dead. tell you about that. also back to school for thousand of college students in our area. some schools are implementing new high tech safety measures. president obama continues to push the health care plan it is vacation time for the first family. chuck, what you got, ddy? >> man, beautiful weather outside today. more sunshine on the way.

19 people are dead after a prison riot between rival prison gangs in mexico. 20 others were hurt. many are jailed on drug charges. onlookers who gathered outside the prison could see smoke rising from the facility as you see there. no officers were hurt. almost 7,000 fire fighters are now battling nearly a dozen blazes across the state of california. one of the largest is in phoenix-santa cruz south of san francisco. the blaze raging in steep canyons miles away from 1,000 homes and buildings. governor schwarzenegger is urging residents in the affected areas to obey the mandatory evacuation orders. president obama is combining business with pleasure on his health care campaign out west. the first family went sightseeing today at yellowstone national park. old faithful erupted on schedule when the obamas walked up with park rangers.

after leaving the park, mr. obama headed to a townhall meeting in grand junction, colorado. tomorrow the first family expected to visit the grand canyon. yesterday the first lady along with sasha and malia there went whitewater rafting in montana. looked too good to be true. you know what? it was sort o t you see a four-star hotel inicen ve mistakenly offered aen romantic en ekwed for 1 ekeuro. boeo p0ple p booked rooms. tedokplhe rooms at the price. but, it tutne ood te b a mistake. the hotel mint to offer sgho- atatty h bal two-night stay at half price. usually rooms there cost up to the sfftat.gher the staffer made the akstmie. still, the hotel ssaytla i pstn to honor reservations that could cost them about $129,000. still ahead tonight -- new technology could keep college students safer. as they head back to school. tell you about that. plus after a beautiful

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thousand of young people are heading back to school. new technology destoond to give parents some peace of mind as their young loved ones leave the nest. derek ward has that report tonight. move in day. right of passages for sons and daughters. howard university and american university, parents say good-bye. >> i'm not so concerned about really just leaving her by herself. am just concerned about, you know, some of the things that may go on here in the city. >> i love the city. the best part of the city as f as i know. and we're very excited. i think it is going to be a tremendous opportunity here for her. >> one of the things parents at both campuses are concerned about is safety. this year, howard university

starting a new program aimed at keeping all students safe. >> the new system. the guardian service as well as our upgraded alert system. >> cell phone base. the company, wireless, works with campuses. it has panic buttons and timer function that can alert help if the user isn't at a preset location at a preset time. >> we know students all have cell phones. so we feel that this is a way to reach out to the student and for them to reach us. rapidly. >> in addition to existing campus security measures. meanwhile, here on campus of american university they have the same system called au campus connects. same features. for parents and students. the same calming reassuring effect. >> she signed up for that. she is more high tech. >> wonderful. send a text message to your phone in case any alerts. snow day. stay in. any like, if some one is on campus that shouldn't be. they will send tight your phone.

>> technology and good old common sense go a long way to put parents' mind at ease. >> as long as i am careful and know my surroundings and get to know people who know the area. i think i will be fine. i know not to go out, late at night by myself. >> i feel much better than i did a few weeks ago. derek ward. news 4. this year there are 1,700 members of the freshman class at howard. american has 1,500. saw the folks moving in. they dealt with some heat. >> little heat out there. not crazy by august standard. warm enough. lifting heavy boxes you are going to be sweating in no time today. we have more great moving, packing weather tomorrow. so get ready for it. going to be a little on the warm e side tomorrow. temperatures tomorrow. back up into the low 90s. today we topped out at 89 degrees. i think tomorrow. 90 is a pretty sure bet outside. all right. check it out. on your city-cam, a bright blue sky overhead. and a wonderful day to be outside. pick your favorite sidewalk cafe. plan to be, eat your favorite

meal. good weather for it ouide today. temperatures in the mid to upper 80s. high today. 89 degrees. 72-degree start this morning. august rainfall. .8 inch of rain all most in auk. less than half of our average rainfall. this follows of course the fifth driest july on record. we really could use the rain around here. it's not coming tomorrow. it's not coming monday either. so, couple more dry ds on the way. 86 in town. 83, annapolis. saint mary's county. little bit cooling off. locations right along the water. get away from the water though. temperatures uniformly in the mid to upper 80s across the area. wonderful weather cupping oomin way. high pressure in charge. one or two lonely showers popped up, west of the blue ridge. those will be fading very quickly. high pressure in charge of our weather. lonely showers will be gone by 7:00, 8:00 this evening. a gradual warming trend on its way. we get into the early parts of the week. highs, low, perhaps even a few spots down towards fredericks

burke. spotsylvia in the mid 90s. monday, tuesday. tropics had been quiet all season long. now things are getting busier. tropical storm ana. right on her heels. tropical storm bill now. two named storms out there. we'll deal with ana first. maximum sustained winds. 40 miles an hour. min cal tropical storm. the hurricane center. the forecast now. this is good new. brings it into the island. closer to the area. that is good news. interaction of the high ter rain o -- high terrain. will prevent the storm. long ways away. almost 2,500 miles away from washington, d.c. there you can see the big cone of uncertainty. by thursday. 2:00 in the afternoon. wide range of possibilities for where the storm could be. we'll keep you posted. many, many, days away from us. for r tonight. cloud will be fading away. could see fog first thing tomorrow morning. tomorrow afternoon. sunny, hot. once again.

cumulus clouds. one or two lonely showers in the mountains. possibility. not a likelihood. for this evening. clearing skies. and warm, those cumulus clouds. they need the sunshine to keep going. without that, we'll be mostly clear by morning. a wonderful day to got out. have the morning bike ride. jog, swim. 65 to 72 degrees. when you get up tomorrow morning to go to sunday service. tomorrow look today. the little cumulus field will build in once agn.ain. little warmer tomorrow with temperatures climbing into the upper 80s to low 90s. across the area. here is your all-important seven-day forecast. 93 monday. 92, tuesday. first chance of a shower really comes back in wednesday. time frame. and another good chance, better chance of rain nextfriday, saturday. >> okay. thank you. appreciate it. >> next in sports. nats make a record offer to their number one pick. steven strasbourg.

trying to pick up where they lft off, huh? >> big development in the signing of steven strasbourg. for now potentials worth more than production to the nationals. d the president says the team offered number one overall pick. steven strasbourg, a record setting contract. some reports suggest the offer would be between 14 to 16 million dollars. he believes there is a real possibility that strasbourg may not sign. meanwhile, last night a win thanks to a pitcher. in cincinnati. yeah. a head scratcher right there. why wouldn't you sign. and mott, six innings. help from the defense. ryan zimmerman. bare hand. to first. gets him. tavarez. not fast enough. take a look. so nice. twice. zimmerman did not get a hit. snapping the 16-game hitting streak. still no score.

ronnie belliard at the plate. changes that with one swing. send the shot to the upper deck in left. great american ballpark. belliard's, fourth home run. take a 1-0 lead. that's all they needed. that's not the case. last night it was. bottom of the fifth. paul janice up with two on. singles. fleiss play. second win of the season. shut out the red. 2-0, talking football now. michael vick. and clearly split. yesterday the cover of the philadelphia daily news read hide your dogs. reebok official uniform supplier for the nfl is receiving so much demand for michael vick jerseys they have begun production. there he is. vick wearing 7. standing next to donovan mcnabb.

ran the offense in the walk through practice this morning. in the afternoon session, worked out as number 3 quarterback. 29-year-old vick is eligible to play in the eagles final two preseason games. closer to hope. the redskins are preparing to play steelers one week from today. head coach jim zorn called the defense soft after 500 yards of offense to the ravens in the preseason. can't give that much offense up and win. zorn says result of inexperience. >> we had a lot of young guys who understand now being in shape and condition is a premium. being able to play full speed. we have to be able to do that. and it takes its toll. and then -- adding all that up. i mean we gave up 500 yard almost, we gave up 500 yards of offense to their team. and that can't happen. >> no it can't. and the other football.

go time for d.c. united. with ten left in the regular season. black and red sit in third place in the eastern conference. one point ahead of toronto, d.c. united played this afternoon. said the united rookie. we need to go to toronto and handle our business. d.c. united fans. they travel pretty well. north of the border there. 30th minute. on the attack. cross, into the box. check out dwayne derosario. josh wick frozen. the ninth of the season. toronto up 1-nil. second half. off the corner kick. passes it back to o'brien white. well, the hero here. brian white with his first goal. toronto, d.c. united. 2-0. the washington freedom hosting the sky blue today in the first round of the playoffs. let's go to germantown. second half where we peck it ic. colliding with the goalie. and lisa devanna gets the ball

there. shoots. scores. and ellie with the ball. sky blue, knocked out the freedom 2-1. the final. they snuck into the playoffs. got in to have a decent time there. >> i would hope to say they would be much, much better. not going to look that bad. promise you. you can hold me to >> a were gog >> we are going